A string of due-diligence shortcomings enabled the international fraud that sapped investor confidence in once-booming London-listed oil firm Afren – and has also now led to jail time for its two top executives. What lessons can the banking industry learn from the failings laid bare in the court proceedings?

Prospects are improving, but the negative impact of Qatar’s isolation, given oil price volatility and the lack of diversification, has removed the cushion of safety the region took for granted.

Herbert Wigwe, CEO of Access Bank, says his institution’s announced merger with Diamond Bank will not only make it Africa’s largest bank by customers but also give it the potential to double its client base within just two or three years.

Before it sets off into Africa, the international financial institution needs to look to its roots.

Telcos allowed to provide limited services, helping financial inclusion in the country.

Regional difficulties have tested QNB’s resilience, but the bank has managed to consolidate its position at home and maintain its international strength.

The UAE’s largest bank is widely considered to have made a success of its merger and is now looking to realize its international potential.

Warning sirens are sounding about the level of debt Djibouti owes to China for Belt and Road projects. The local view is that they need the money and China is the country that is offering it. But the fate of the Djibouti-Addis Ababa railway represents the financial challenges of BRI in a 756-kilometre microcosm.

The two Nigerian banks’ merger would form the country’s largest financial institution, but it is somewhat overshadowed by Diamond’s troubled legacy loans to the oil and energy sectors.

In Africa, digital payments are still the future, not the present.

The Trump administration has begun the process of ostracizing Iranian finance. Bankers there are hanging on to some rare good news, but how long will it be till they are back to square one?

The continent is implementing the African Continental Free Trade Agreement to boost intra-regional trade, economic growth and industrialization, but can 54 countries overcome so many obstacles and ratify the agreement?

Bankers believe that Vivo Energy’s dual listing in May has opened the taps on the IPO pipeline in Africa, but with primary equity markets suffering globally, is the continent really an exception?

Developments in the Gulf’s markets are increasingly being driven by the presence of Asian – and especially Chinese – banks, so no wonder rival financial centres in the region are competing for a bigger slice of the pie.

Planned changes to the country’s fintech licensing regime could halt the growth of a burgeoning market.

A new generation of digital products has slashed the cost of remittances and helped the unbanked meet short-term household or business liquidity needs, but there has been a downside.

New African Capital Partners’ (NACP) first investment target is a large, regional banking group, co-founder Charles Kie tells Euromoney in his first interview since the launch.

The country is powering ahead as it seeks to tap $20 billion in foreign-currency borrowings through to 2022, starting with Pandas and Samurais, and a $5 billion Eurobond.

The formation of First Abu Dhabi Bank, widely viewed as a success, has sparked a series of merger announcements. Will scale make for better performing banks? And could cross-border mergers in the region finally happen?

Saudi Arabia’s central bank governor recently gave international banks a clear signal that they will not be punished by a loss of fees for avoiding an investment conference in Riyadh due to public outrage over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Ken Moelis lived up to his nickname ‘Ken of Arabia’ when he showed up at the Saudi Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh in late October in his brave pursuit of future fee income despite the risk of international opprobrium.

The murder of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has sparked condemnation of the kingdom’s leadership the world over, but as the dust settles after the Future Investment Initiative, what are the real-world effects, if any, of this crisis on Saudi Arabia’s banking ties?

The murder of a Saudi journalist has led to the withdrawal of international financiers from Saudi Arabia’s state-run investment conference, and compounded growing fears over the kingdom’s leadership.

Two of the world’s most advanced cryptocurrency markets agree to exchange notes on blockchain regulation.

After a tumultuous decade, the country’s leading investment banks have finally recovered their confidence – and are bursting into new markets and products.

Absa’s efforts to establish wholesale-banking partnerships outside Africa, possibly with Barclays or Société Générale, underlines the importance of international links to African finance.

Slower growth is translating into lower government spending on infrastructure. With an estimated funding deficit of $40 billion a year, private-sector solutions from Africa’s home-grown pension fund industry as well as international insurance firms could help plug the gap.

Cipla Quality Chemicals’ share sale is good news for Uganda’s capital markets, but is still something of a rarity. Investors have little choice when it comes to picking stocks: government borrowing remains high and puts the focus on bonds, while family-owned businesses tend to be wary of opening up to outside investment.

With global liquidity conditions tightening, local currency bond markets have a more important role to play in financing African governments and companies. While Ghana and Nigeria are leading the way, other markets are still in the early stages. Poor transparency and liquidity, and a multiplicity of legal regimes are holding back foreign investment.

As the central bank awards its first new banking licences in 20 years, the big four will find it harder to justify the fees that have underpinned their profitability. The newcomers promise technology will facilitate cheaper banking services and tackle inequality.